Bob Rosadini

Hard to believe! Some good news with respect to Ranger. And lets hope it truly is a "truck" instead of some yuppie featherweight. Leaf springs??? A good sign! Again a segment that Ford owned but then neglected. Remember it was not that long ago that in the list of top ten selling vehicles Ford had ranger, Taurus, 150, and Explorer. Only bad news in the post was no mention of a RWD sedan.

Well I've printed the 08 order guide and it appears to be as complete as the 07's. As for sales, using June YTD, Ford had 14.4% of class 6 and 7 sales, vs 7.4% for GM/Chev, 30.6% for Freightliner, and 30.8% for International. The big question remains, what happens to Bluediamond. If the Ford/Navistar brawl continues and they part company, what does Ford do? Move everything back to the Mexican plant that built the 2000-2003 650/750??? To those who say they should get out given their financial position and the competing programs, I just look at Hino (Toyota). these guys have 3.8 % of class 6 and 7 and they are aggressive in everything they do. I see class 7 Hino tractors o a regular basis and I have NEVER seen a 750 tractor on the road since the 650/750 came out in 2000! Why? I guess they just don't market- even though they offer a tractor package. And think about it- Ford was a major player in the old days when it came to class 7 city delivery tractors. Today? You won't see one. As with a lot of things at Ford. They owned a particular market (Ranger, Crown Vic) and they piss it away. Let's hope it doesn't happen with these trucks as well.

Why bother- but again, sheer stupidity. The car is bullet proof. My last one had 218,000 on it, looked great and was sold within two hours when the weekly want ad rag came out. The buyer? It was going oversees. My "new" one? An 07 Sport that in 11 mos has 41,000 miles on it, last saw the dealer when it was delivered, and gets 22.5 mpg typically in mixed driving and close to 24 when driven at 70/75 highway. Doesn't sell? of course- a self fullfilling prophecy. No marketing, no inventory and no effort. In the meantime the only thing we read about is all the RWD variants that will soon be coming to market by others. Cadillac has a revived image based on rear wheel drive, has the "Car of the Year" ( I agree -screw MT but its still "press") and what do we Ford people have? Another FWD /"AWD" shitbox from Lincoln. Flame away geniuses!

No its called "Freedom of Choice". For the outside guy looking in who is working at Wal-Mrt or some other shit hole its a better opportunity. To the guy who has put 20 years in, it protects his senioritybecause there is someone coming in beneath him. Two tier will work. And what is your option to this? learn Spanish and move? And to the guy that says--"we all should take the hit"- stand up at your ratification meeting and say that. Flame away. PS Loyal shareholder who has supported Ford and its workers for more years then I want to admit.

Amazing! Actually capitalizing on a strength instead of ignoring it and letting it die on the vine a la Lincoln LS, THUNDERBIRD- AND YES- PANTHER!

The Sterling dealers will continue to sell the Sterling Bullet which is a Dodge pickup with a different grill. If that relationship continues, I'm sure the Sprinter deal will continue. It makes sense for both companies.

I did a post on the employee forum theother day asking if anyone at KTP saw signs of any line modification that would indicate 650/750 (850??!!) was coming back to Louisville. Igot one respose in which the basically saidthey didn't knowwhat shift they would beworking never mind if big jobs were coming back. I had an e-mail from someone in Commercial truckat Ford who said 650/750/LCF were very much in their plans for the future-we shall see. And goinbroke2, you are correct- we all see the old Fords everyday still on the job. Ford owned the vocational truck market and they pissed it away. sad part is the 750 has the specs to do a lot of those jobs today (home oil delivery) but they don't aggresively go after anything- brain dead marketers IMO

How about it KTP. The Trucking/Construction Equipment rags keep running stories about the pending end of the no compete and will Ford get back into class 8's - or "baby 8's" for that matter (an F-750 with a tandem.) With things not exactly "friendly" between Ford and Navistar, if the wheels come off the Bluediamond JV where does 650/750 go? Any signs of activity at KTP that might indicate a different product line?

I think the point has been made that for not much money, you could continue to get decent sales numbers out of a very profitable platform. Again, my 07 Sport averages close to 23 mpg in mixed driving. It is a helol of a value for what you get. And its bullet proof. And its built in a plant with a good build rep that is drastically underutilized right now- underutilaztion means sunk costs or put another way, production for a few incremental dollars. My hope is this new guy from Yoda will look around and see what can be done in the short term to bolster the numbers. the Panther is one platform for sure and so is the Ranger. And speaking of that, given Yoda's success with the Tacoma lets hope he sees that its time to get the Ranger and Twin Cities working again. Remember it wasn't that long ago that Ranger was oe of the top 10 i sales figures.

Two tier structures can work. I've implimented one but unless everyone buys into it, you are screwed. In a nutshell,the alternative to a two tier is usually to go out of business or let the business shrink. to those who say "no way", I say, do you want to be high on the seniority list of say a thousand guys or 50 guys? As to the guy coming in at the lower rate, he is on the outside looking in. The lower wage is obviously better then what he has. To those who say - yeah but in a year he will be pissed off, that is management and the union's job to continually remind these people of why they are there. Is it perfect? Hell no but it beats the alternative. And if you don't like two tiers, then look at greatly extended progression rates. They have nothing to do with "learning the job", but rather offer the company a way to lower labor costs while protecting existing workers who have put their time in. And if the new guy doesn't like a 72 month progression rate, he need not apply and can keep his job at Wal-Mart. Flame away, but like I've said, Ive done it and it works- and it is a better alternative to closing shop. The old ways don't work anymore.

Seems to me Flynnt makes sense on this issue. The Ranger makes a ton of sense. Just market it and give it a bit of a makeover until the next generation comes along. It makes no sense to leave a segment then come back to it in a year or two. In particular when its Toyota that will be picking your bones.

Not to be practical, but its a truck. When will someone recognize that and lower the box height or at least offer as an option a box with a lower height. this thing looks like a personal injury claim waiting to happen.

Just have to get my two cents in as I have a 2007 CV Sport, Black on Black. The car will be a yer old in Oct. and it is pushing 33,000 miles. Hasn't been to the dealer since I picked it up. Averages about 23.3. If it gets steady diet of 70-75 mph Interstate it gets close to 24. I'm 6-2, 225 with size 14 hoofs and I've had 600 mile days in it. Must be something wrong with me because the seats didn't bother me and I wasn't beat. As for the look, yeah, its old but as someone else pointed out, it is timeless- again an opinion. I put a set of Flowmasters on it when I got it and a set of Hela fogs in the corners of the front fascia- fit perfectly. Has a nice low key growl. What would it cost Ford to include this stuff in the Sport package and give the car a bit of personality?? Not much but again, I think the product guys are brain dead. As to someone's comment about being an oil burner?? I must be lucky. This one doesn't use any, and my last one that had 218,000 on it didn't leak a drop- but it did use a quart between changes- did it from the day it was new. Oh, Topgun, Ute, if you or any of your STAP buddies are reading this, thanks again. Bob

Igor- Please elaborate. Someone on the Dieselstop site said they are built by Iveco. What do youj say..and again the turk is a totally different truck then the Brazilian Cargo whjich is the same truck that was imported here and then later built at KTP B ob

You bring up an interesting point. I knew about the big Fords in Brazil. Its the old Cargo that Ford sold -make that gave away- to Daimler- who has since dropped both the Sterling and freightliner badged versions. BUT, I never checked out Turkey. Go to the Ford World web site and click on Turkey- wish I read the language! The Cargo they build there is a totally different animal and it looks like it has a Ford engine- not an 8.3 Cummins as does the Caro in Brazil Anyone have any info on these trucks? Ar they built by Ford or are they a rebadged Iveco or something else. These things look like they are for real.

10-4, Its the same truck. Just like if you check out the part no. on the spring hangers on a 750 and then go check the same part on a 4400 International- same chassis.

You are both right. Its another Bluediamond product. the cab is a Mazda cab, it comes with only the Ford Torqueshift trans, and it has the International V-6 version ofthe Power Stroke. One thing I don't know is the origin of the chasssis. Anyone have a clue? Bob PS Like I said a couple of months ago- Any one at KTP see any signs of work activity that could mean a new production line for 650/750??

They should- acording to a dealer friend of mine they were really starting to take off when they killed it. But they won't as it will clash with the LCF. Now if Bluediamond blows up, then it just might. but as long as Bluediamond survives I would bet no.

You bet- along with the same upbeat music instead of the lame version they are using now. Remember the music with alternating racing scenes, Lynn St. James etc? Well I'm sure ynn doesn't cut it any more but some good Mustang racing scenes would work. (we just won't ention Nascar this year-unless they show Carl Edwards doing his back flip last sat night!

Thx- too bad- a lot of sales will be lost in the meantime. With fuel at 3 bucks, its a lot easier to justify the diesel premium.

What is the issue? Fitting the twin turbos in the doghouse?

Its not a 10,000lb. payload but a GVW of 10,000. In any case, it belongs here- as others have pointed out, with E-series not offering a diesel, there is a big void. E series will outsell Sprinter but for how long can Ford ignore this segment. In particular when they have such a great vehicle that can compete. As I have postrd before, Ford has had Transits running here in test fleets for some time now. Should be time to pull the trigger.

They sure have- totally stupid move- small cars are riding a wave and what do the idiot planners do? Abandone a hot segment. The wagon was a great car.- decent looks and functional. They seem to go out of their way to shoot themselves in the foot.